"I'm going to Boise, Idaho!!" I have found even more reason to love that line from the movie Singles Ward. In fact my mom, Austen, Morgan, Kendall, Beck and myself were all shouting that very thing just a few weeks ago. Then 17 hours, 900 miles, 3 tubes of Pringles, 1 pack of Oreos, limited amounts of liquid (stops were kept at a minimum), countless episodes of Little Einsteins, a word search book, 2 cookie-sheets turned into magnetic lap trays, 1 75lb tortoise, throw in some Jack Johnson and John Mayer (oh yeah, and a $75 speeding ticket) and we were there!
It was such a great visit. The Makaafi's were gracious enough to host us and truly gave us our own home away from home. We spent all of our time hanging out with the three families there--Makaafi's, Schultz's, and Messina's. It was perfect. Making up for months being apart but reconnecting like they were never away. We had fun cheering (and freezing) at baseball games, singing into spring at school performances, finding a truck-load of eggs at Easter, figuring out the best system for separating the nine sets of state-quarters, training a new puppy, squirming at the reptile shows, painting fingernails, doing heart-braids, making cookies, completing homework, making pictures for Aunty Beth's closet, riding scooters, jumping double-dutch (Gramma included!) and like I said, just hanging out. Doing the same kind of stuff we would be if we lived close again.
Beck did really great with people's names. Some of my favorite interpretations are Anela="Wuh-Wuh", Fo'ou="Ho", Chip="Twip", Aunt Tracy="Aunty Beff" (I don't know what he would call her if he saw them standing next to each other).
Gosh, I miss these girls!
Beck loved to wear Jack's "fingers."
I have to say, Easter Sunday was beautiful and we were outside enjoying it!
Beck, to no surprise, enjoyed his Easter candy.
I just think this is the funniest thing!! I like to imagine what brought the owners of this Mexican restaurant to post these at the ordering counter.
The one scary moment was at the very last day. We were enjoying our last night with the Makaafi's. Beck was having fun with a flashlight and accidentally dropped it on his big toe. "Momma? (sob, sniffle, sob)" "Yes Beck?" "Toe hurt. (more sniffles and sobs)" was what I heard for the next hour as he sought comfort on my lap. After some pain medication he fell asleep. But not very well. The plan for the ride home was the same plan as the way up - get a couple good hours sleep then leave at three in the morning. Between Beck's wincing all night and my coughing (I was fighting a cold) neither myself nor my mom (lying in the next room) were getting any "good hours sleep." My mom poked her head in around 12:30 am to bring me some water. It was then we discussed our lack of sleep and decided to pack it up and just go for it. There was no reason not to get any sleep there when we could be getting no sleep on the road, at least making progress towards something. Once the decision was made we were scared and emotional. However, I hope to always remember the peace and comfort I felt as Fo'ou offered a prayer. In the car Beck was able to settle down and fall asleep. I was able to drive for a couple hours, then my mom. And we did it. The drive went by surprisingly fast. I couldn't have asked for Austen to be more helpful and my kids to be more pleasant. Our prayers were answered and we made it home.
